Persona: The War of the Shadows
by ServantofGrima
Summary: March 2014. Three years after the Inaba Shadow Incident, another group of high-schoolers awaken their own Personas and combat the Shadows. This time, though, there's more at stake than the existence of an entire town. Now, they fight for all the world. The Magician, the Priestess, the Lovers, the Strength, the Fortune, the Devil, the Star, and the Fool will fight the Universe.


**Persona: The War of the Shadows**

**ペルソナ：影の戦争**

**Prologue Arc: A New Era Begins**

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><p><em>The smallest of events can completely change the fate of our world.<em>

_From what history has shown us, the most important wars are the ones no one sees._

_Our future has been in danger from the beings of darkness countless times._

_Yet our destruction was averted twice by two different Fools._

_One sealed away the Body of the Shadows, at the price of his life._

_The second destroyed the Heart of the Shadows, and just barely escaped Death._

_Now, a third Fool will enter the battlefield, and challenge the Soul of the Shadows._

_And, like his predecessors, he will not be alone: seven others will fight by his side until the end._

_The Magician, the Priestess, the Lovers, the Strength, the Temperance, the Devil, and the Star…_

_Together, the Eight Arcana will challenge the Universe._

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><p><strong>Chapter One: Arrival<strong>

"_Where am I?"_ a young teen, eighteen years old, asked himself as he opened his silver eyes. His short, blonde hair shimmered brightly in the darkness of midnight. He looked down to the ground, noting his choice of clothing: a black blazer over a white polo shirt, black denim jeans, blue Nike's with red laces, and a silver bracelet around his left wrist. The ground around him flashed once…twice…and then he found himself inside a train station. The teen looked around for other patrons, but finds none.

Suddenly, the blaring horn of a train cut through the night air, drawing the teen's attention towards the tracks. He walked up to them, and looked to the right, where he saw a train not unlike one from the Industrial Revolution headed for the station.

The train pulled into the station, and stopped in front of the teen. As the solitary door on the train's front-most passenger car slid open, violet mist flowed out from inside the car, like a person's breath on a chilly winter morning. The teen stared at the door for a moment, before stepping inside. As he entered, the door closed behind him, and he felt the train lurch forward once, before it steadily picked up speed as it left the station.

The teen looked around the inside of the passenger car, noting how the entire interior was coated in velvet. The teen then noticed that the car had no traditional seating-instead, right in the center, was a round table, with three cushioned chairs around it. Two of the chairs were occupied by a woman and a man, who didn't seem to notice the teen.

The woman was about twenty-five years old, with platinum blonde hair, curled around the side of her head, and golden eyes. Her pale skin glowed dimly in the moonlight filtering through the train windows. Her attire consisted of a dark blue stewardess' outfit, matching heels, and black and gold buttons along the front of her dress. In the teen's eyes, she was a paragon of beauty.

The man, however, was the complete opposite of the woman. He appeared to be at least double her age, with white hair on the back of his head (the front and top were bald), an absurdly long nose, pointed ears, and black, bloodshot eyes. His attire included a black tuxedo, white gloves, black dress pants, and long, black shoes.

The man looked up, and finally noticed the teen. "Ah, we seem to have a guest," he said, his voice seeming to have a Victorian-esque accent to it. He turned to the woman, who had just glanced up at the teen and looked him over inquisitively. "Margaret, could you be a dear and gather some refreshments for me and our guest?" The woman, Margaret, nodded briskly, before rising from her chair, and moving towards the back of the car. Opening the sliding door in the back, she stepped through, and disappeared.

The man turned back to the teen, and gestured to the remaining chair. "Please, sit." The teen nodded, and took a seat, shifting into a comfortable position. "Now, I believe introductions are in order. My name is Igor-I am the proprietor of the Velvet Room." The teen tilted his head sideways in confusion, causing Igor to chuckle in response. "Ah, I suppose I had better explain exactly _what_ the Velvet Room is.

"The Velvet Room is an area that resides between the conscious and subconscious minds, between dream and reality, between mind and matter. It is unable to be seen-except by those with vast spiritual awareness. Even then, only a select few can actually enter the Velvet Room. These 'visitors' are usually people whose fates are intertwined with the Velvet Room. As for why the Velvet Room is inside a passenger train…" Igor chuckled lightly before continuing. "My best guess is that the mind of the current visitor shapes the Room at random. The last visitor who came here found himself in a limousine, and the two before him were in an elevator…"

Margaret reentered the car at that moment, carrying a tray with two glasses of water. She brought the beverages to the table, setting them down in front of Igor and the teen. "Ah thank you, my dear." Igor took a hold of his glass, and looked back at the teen. "This is my assistant, Margaret. She also serves as my butler and companion." Margaret curtsied to the teen.

"Hello," she said, nodding curtly before sitting down. The teen nodded in return, before looking back at Igor.

"It's a pleasure meeting you both," he said. "My name is Sasuke Kirishima." Igor nodded, and, after taking a sip of some of his water, drew from his tuxedo a deck of tarot cards. Each of the cards had, on the back, a face that was white on one side and black on the other, and the words 'Memento Mori' underneath said face.

"I see…Tell me Sasuke, have you ever had a tarot reading before?" he asked, absentmindedly shuffling the deck of fifty cards in his hands.

"No," Sasuke replied, shaking his head, "But my older sister used to give them out to others." Igor nodded, his eyes closed in a meditative trance.

"Ah, so the idea is not foreign to you, then? Good, then that saves me the expense of explaining how a reading works." Igor finished shuffling the deck, and placed the top six cards facedown on the table, in such a way that they formed a hexagon. "Each reading is done using the same cards, yet the result is always different. Life follows the same principles, does it not?"

Placing the deck in the center of the hexagon, Igor snapped his fingers, and the card at the top left corner of the hexagon flipped over on its own, revealing a tower being split in two by a lightning bolt. "I see…" Igor mused to himself. "The Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent."

After a moment's pause, Igor snapped his fingers again, and the top right card flipped over, revealing a full moon, reflected in a pool of water inhabited by a black fish and a white fish. "And the card that indicates the future beyond that…is the Moon, in the upright position. This card represents hesitation…and mystery. Very interesting indeed." With a wave of his hand, the six cards on the table shuffled themselves back into the deck, before the deck itself vanished.

"It seems that you will encounter a misfortune in the near future, and a great mystery will be thrust upon you. It will be your job to solve this mystery." Sasuke was about to ask Igor to explain what he meant, but his head started to pound, and he noticed the floor started to flash white.

"It seems we are running out of time, Sasuke," Margaret said, a small hint of disappointment in her voice. Igor nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I am afraid so. Before you go, however, please take this." Igor passed a velvet-coated key to Sasuke, who placed it into his jeans pocket. "And a word of warning: in a few days, you will come upon a 'contract' of sorts. The next time we meet, we will discuss the details of this contract further." The floor flashed white again, although it was much brighter this time. "Until then, farewell…" Sasuke started to feel dizzy, and then the floor turned white again, glowing so brilliantly that Sasuke was blinded for a few moments…

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><p>Sasuke opened his eyes, and found himself back on the train headed for Mobius City, his home for the next year or so. Mobius City was a large city that was located about fifty miles south of Tokyo, Japan, with a decent-sized population of about fifteen thousand. Originally nothing more than an unimportant field, the plot of land was purchased in 1967 by a small group of entrepreneurs when one of their expeditions discovered that the fields held a massive reservoir of oil underneath its lush grass. Over the course of time, a small town was built there, which then developed into a city.<p>

Mobius City was home to many companies, both big and small, but the whole city was dominated by Nova Shauna, a company that was started by the group of entrepreneurs who built Mobius City. Their headquarters was located in the center of the city, within a large skyscraper that the locals call the 'Needle of Nova', mostly because of how similar it looked to Seattle's Space Needle.

"_What was that vision?"_ he thought to himself. _"A dream? But it seemed so real…"_ He was broken out of his reverie by the train intercom announcing that the train was approaching Nova Harp Station. Sasuke checked his personal backpack-which contained his personal reading books, laptop, cellphone, iPod Nano with earbuds, Nintendo 3DS (with his copy of _Fire Emblem: Awakening_ loaded in it), and game cartridge holder (with his copies of _Pokémon Omega Ruby_, _Rhythm Thief and the Emperor's Treasure_, and _Mario Kart 7_ stored in it)-before standing and slinging it over his shoulders.

The train pulled into the station, slowing to a halt before its doors opened, hissing like a threatened rattlesnake as they slid apart. The passengers disembarked, some stretching their sore limbs, while others made for the gates as if they would vanish at any moment. Sasuke walked through the gates, slipping his one-way ticket into the deposit slot as he passed, and made his way to the station's central plaza.

Nova Harp Station's central plaza was crowded, but not too much, considering it was a Sunday. Sasuke heard the light patter of rain against the windows and roof, and sighed contently: rainy weather had always helped him relax and unwind, for some reason. Tilting his head up, he looked at the large, ornate clock situated on the wall above him, and saw that it was about a quarter to six.

"_Good,"_ he thought, _"That gives me fifteen minutes to wait for Aunt Gracie. And hopefully get an umbrella, too."_ Sasuke walked towards the nearby information kiosk, and, after picking up one of the free maps of the city and station, made his way towards the souvenir shop, where he bought himself a sky blue umbrella. After paying, he made his way outside, where he saw two women waiting for him.

"Sasuke!" the older woman cried when she saw him, running up to him and hugging him tightly. She was about forty-three years old, with auburn hair, green eyes, and a tan complexion. Her attire consisted of a white t-shirt, blue sweatpants, and red high heels.

"Agh!" Sasuke gasped as the woman crushed his body against hers. "Aunt Gracie, please! Stop…crushing…me!" Gracie released her nephew from certain death, before taking him in a much lighter embrace.

The younger woman scoffed at her mother's antics. She was about eighteen years old, with auburn hair like her mother, but her eyes were a deep blood red color, and her attire was much more liberal, with a black velvet tank top that revealed more of her midriff than should be legally allowed, a pink miniskirt that left nothing to the imagination, and red high heels, complete with fishnet stockings.

After Gracie let her nephew go, the younger woman tackled Sasuke to the ground, and pinned him to the ground. "Hey, Baka. How've you been?" Sasuke growled into the ground: while he loved his aunt to death-even if she did constantly bear hug him-he abhorred her oldest daughter.

"Get off me, Himiko," he growled. Himiko laughed, her eyes gleaming sadistically. She grabbed Sasuke's arms, and pulled them behind his back, causing him to whimper slightly.

"Himiko, let your cousin go," Gracie sighed, shaking her head in an exhausted manner. Sasuke's cousin obliged, but not before kicking him in the shin.

"Well, Baka? Stop sleeping on the ground and get up." Himiko walked out of the station towards the car, leaving Sasuke to pick himself off the ground.

"Sorry about Himiko, she still hasn't recovered from the shock of losing…" Gracie trailed off. She was still unable to mention her late husband's name, even though three years had passed since the accident that claimed his life.

"I understand, Aunt Gracie," Sasuke replied, taking his backpack off and checking its contents: nothing was broken, much to his relief. "Come on, let's go."

Outside, the rain continued to fall, although now it was just a light mist. Sasuke and Gracie kept their umbrellas open as they made their way to Gracie's car-a Toyota Highlander, imported from America. Gracie took to the driver's seat, while Sasuke grabbed the back left seat, seeing as Himiko was already riding shotgun. After buckling, Sasuke powered on his iPod, choosing to listen to _Aria of the Soul_ as they drove out of the station towards Gracie's house.

Sasuke was about halfway through the song when he heard Gracie's voice. "So Sasuke, tell me, how was the train ride? Not too rough, I hope?" Sasuke quickly paused the song, and removed his earbuds.

"No, it was fine, Aunt Gracie," he replied, mentally deciding not to tell her about his dream. "I actually slept most of the way."

"Well, that's good to hear." Gracie smiled brightly. Shortly afterwards, she directed her attention to the dashboard, and softly groaned. "Bad news, kids. We're almost out of gas. We'll have to stop for a few minutes while I refill the tank." Himiko scoffed lightly as Gracie pulled into a gas station on the left: Noel Avia Gas Station.

"Hi, welcome to Noel Avia!" the sole gas attendant, a young woman about twenty years old, said cheerily, despite the semi-gloomy weather. She had on a red outfit with the gas station's logo-an eagle clutching a sign that said 'Noel Avia'-sewn onto it, black work boots, and black, fingerless gloves. Her brown hair was cut short, and her blue eyes sparkled with an enthusiasm that seemed almost unnatural. "How may I help you?"

Gracie handed the attendant ¥100, enough to get a little more than five gallons of gas. "Himiko, Sasuke," she said, turning to the two teens, "I'm going inside to buy some water. You two want anything?" Both teens shook their heads no. "All right. Well, if you want, you can get out and stretch your legs. But please don't wander off too far." Without another word, Gracie left the car and walked over to the convenience store.

Sasuke also took the opportunity to stretch his legs a little, while Himiko just sat in the car lazily, flipping through her phone. Sasuke walked a few steps away from the Highlander, when he felt a dull pain in his head. As he rubbed his temples, he heard a faint voice.

_**I am thou…**_it said, before vanishing along with the pain. Sasuke looked around, but couldn't see anyone talking to him. He turned around and walked back to the car.

"Are you new around here?" the gas attendant asked him. Sasuke turned around, startled by her question. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," she apologized profusely, blushing slightly.

"It's fine, I probably should've paid more attention," Sasuke replied. "And yes, I just moved here. I'm Sasuke Kirishima, and I'm going to be living with my Aunt Gracie for a year." The attendant smiled, and extended her hand.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Sasuke. I'm Lucille Izanami Hosokawa, but my friends all call me Lucy." Sasuke took her hand, and felt a small spark jump between their hands. "You know," Lucy said after releasing his hand, "If you're ever looking for a part-time job, Noel Avia's always hiring." She passed Sasuke a business card for Noel Avia. "Here's our card-just call the number here if you decide to apply."

Gracie came back just then, prompting Sasuke to return to the car. "Thank you for visiting Noel Avia!" Lucy said cheerily to Gracie as she departed from the gas station. After they were beyond her sight, Lucy chuckled darkly to herself.

"The die is cast. And so it begins."

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><p>The Highlander pulled into the driveway not even five minutes later, and Sasuke stepped out of the car to be greeted by his new home. It wasn't much to look at-a traditional Japanese home with a garage, two floors, and a garden on the left side of the house (if one faced towards the front door)-but Sasuke wasn't complaining.<p>

"Well, kids, welcome home!" Gracie said cheerily. Himiko just grumbled something unintelligible as she walked towards the door and entered the house. Sasuke took in the scenery for a moment, before he followed his aunt into his new home.

Inside, the house was as simple as it looked to be on the outside. There were no walls separating rooms: the kitchen, dining, and family rooms, as well as the front hall, were all connected. The TV was on in the family room, and in front of it was a seven year old boy with auburn hair and lightly tanned skin. He was wearing a green plaid shirt and blue shorts.

"Jun, honey, I'm home!" Gracie called out to her youngest child. The boy turned around, his green eyes locking onto Sasuke. "Oh right, I almost forgot! Jun, honey, can you come here for a moment?" Jun nodded slightly, and walked over towards his mother.

"Jun, this is Sasuke. He's my sister's son, and he'll be living with us for the next year." Jun looked up at Sasuke, before hiding behind his mother's legs.

"Sorry, Sasuke," Gracie said, sighing. "Jun's just shy, that's all." Sasuke nodded in understanding, and headed up to his room to set up his stuff.

_**Jun is nervous, and rightfully so: just like Himiko, he hasn't gotten over the loss of his father, although he seems to be handling it differently. You know what the pain of losing a loved one is like, and hopefully, as the year progresses, you can help him move on, and break out of his shell. You feel a faint bond growing between you and Jun...**_

Suddenly, Sasuke could feel a dull pain in his head. It wasn't a migraine-like pain-more like a phantom pain. After a moment, the pain disappeared, and he saw, within his subconsciousness, a tarot card form, revealing a woman holding a balance upon a sword.

_**Thou art I…and I am thou…Thou hast established a new bond. It brings thee closer to the truth…Thou hast formed the Justice Social Link.**_

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><p>Dinner was mostly uneventful, with Himiko taking her food up to her room after only five minutes, leaving Gracie and Sasuke to, after Jun was put to bed, talk about school and other important things.<p>

"…And you promise me that you won't leave the house after ten o'clock, right?" Sasuke sighed in exasperation.

"Aunt Gracie, I already made that promise three times. Trust me, I won't give you any cause for worry." Gracie nodded, and kissed Sasuke's forehead.

"Okay, I trust you. But please, be careful. I don't want to tell your mother that her only remaining child got hurt, or worse, on my watch." Standing, she took the dishes from the table, and started washing them. "Now get to bed, mister. You've got school in the morning." The two of them laughed jovially, before Sasuke wished his aunt goodnight.

Climbing the stairs, Sasuke entered his room, shut the lights off, and fell onto his futon, falling asleep almost instantly.

_**Your aunt is different than the last time you saw her. Her eyes gleam happily, as if she can push the memory of her husband's death away, if only for a short while. You feel a faint bond growing between you and Aunt Gracie…**_

Within Sasuke's subconsciousness, another tarot card formed, revealing a queen standing over the handle of a blade.

_**Thou art I…and I am thou…Thou hast established a new bond. It brings thee closer to the truth…Thou hast formed the Empress Social Link.**_

* * *

><p>Sasuke woke up, and found himself on a red tiled pathway, with no scenery except for mist surrounding everything.<p>

"_Another dream?"_ he thought to himself. He tried to turn around and head backwards, but found his path blocked by an invisible wall. _"Well, I guess there's no way to go but forward."_

Sasuke walked along the path, not knowing what he would find at the end. Suddenly, a voice echoed through the foggy air.

"_**Do you…seek the truth?"**_it asked before vanishing. Sasuke continued to walk forward, although he moved at a brisker pace. After a few minutes, the voice reappeared.

"_**If it's the truth that you desire…then come and find me…"**_ Sasuke growled irritably, before running down the path.

"All right," he growled, "Whoever you are, show yourself!" Before long, he came up to a red and black door. Sasuke could sense someone behind the door. Growling, he entered, and found himself confronting a foggy version of himself.

"_**So…"**_ Fog Sasuke muttered, _**"You are the one pursuing me…"**_ The being then chuckled to itself. _**"Try all you like…"**_ Sasuke growled, and clenched his fists, but was surprised to find that they curled around the pommel of an unsheathed katana.

"_A katana?"_ Sasuke thought, surprised at the mysterious appearance of the weapon. _"Well, I'm not complaining."_ Sasuke charged at his doppelgänger, and slashed at it, feeling the metal blade connect with something. The being grunted in slight pain, eliciting a smirk from Sasuke.

"_**Hmmm…It seems that you can see a little, despite the fog…I see…Indeed…That is very interesting information…"**_ Fog Sasuke laughed softly to itself. _**"But, you won't catch me so easily…If what you seek is the 'truth'…then your search will become even harder…"**_ Black mist then started to swirl around the being, covering it in a veil, before binding Sasuke's arms and legs in place. The pain was enough to cause him to drop the katana, which vanished as soon as it hit the ground.

"_**Everyone sees only what they want to see…and the fog only deepens…"**_ Sasuke tried to break free, but the bindings held tight. Soon, black mist clouded his vision…

"_**Will we meet again…at a place other than here? Hmhm…I look forward to it…"**_

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Hey all! ServantofGrima here, and I welcome you to my Persona fanfiction! Now, I may not be the biggest fan of the Persona series out there, but I am a fan nonetheless. How ironic, since Persona is technically a spinoff of the <strong>_**Shin Megami Tensei**_** series, and I don't really like any of the **_**Shin Megami Tensei **_**games (except for **_**Shin Megami Tensei IV**_**).**

**Anyways, to start out, the format of **_**Persona: The War of the Shadows**_** is that it will be told in 'arcs': each arc will last about ten chapters (subject to change), except for the Prologue Arc, which will be five chapters long.**

**Second, at the end of some chapters, I will be sharing some interesting facts about certain things in said chapter from other Atlus games (or anything interesting in general). So, here are the references in Chapter One:**

**~Sasuke's last name, 'Kirishima', is a throwback to the first Persona game-**_**Megami Ibunroku Persona**_**. One of the player characters is called Eriko Kirishima. So, quite possibly, Sasuke is Eriko's son (not really).**

**~Baka, in Japanese, means 'idiot', or something similar to that.**

**~The song on Sasuke's iPod Nano, **_**Aria of the Soul**_**, is the song that plays whenever a player is in the Velvet Room in the Persona games. So, whenever we're in a scene inside the Velvet Room, you could play this as background music.**

**~Lucille Izanami Hosokawa is full of references. Here are just a few:**

** *Her middle name, Izanami, is not only the Japanese mother of creation, alongside her brother Izanagi, but #SPOILERS FOR **_**PERSONA 4**_**/**_**P4 GOLDEN**_**# she's the true antagonist behind the events of the game.**

** *Her last name, Hosokawa, was the last name Mitsuhide Akechi's daughter, Gracia, took upon marriage to Tadaoki Hosokawa.**

** *Her last line is a reference to **_**Spectrobes: Origins**_**. The line is spoken by Commander Grant after Rallen and Jeena manage to contact him, yet lose transmission minutes later.**

**Third, those who are proficient in **_**Persona 4**_** knowledge will probably recognize some moments draw parallels to the opening day of **_**P4**_**/**_**P4 Golden**_**. I'm not intentionally copying from the game; it just came out that way. Same with how I'm not intentionally plagiarizing from **_**Naruto**_** or **_**Sonic the Hedgehog**_** (kudos to whoever can figure out what I mean by that).**

**Fourth, and I guess this is a very random and off-topic point, did anyone catch that the **_**Persona 4**_**/**_**P4 Golden**_** Protagonist's default name (Yu Narukami) actually is a throwback to **_**Megami Ibunroku Persona**_**? Narukami was one of the three Fool Arcana Persona available to the player. I didn't even make the connection until I started research for this fanfiction. Interesting…**

**Finally, I would love for people to post reviews. Any form of review, whether encouragement, constructive criticism, or just things you found interesting, will be well appreciated. As always, flames will be ignored, and if they continue, I will have to unleash the full wrath of Margaret's Megidolan (AKA Instant K.O.). And trust me, nobody wants that.**

**I'll see you all next time. But for now…"Persona!" *ServantofGrima summons Titania.* "Traesto! Let's escape!" *Titania takes SoG into her arms and teleports away.***

**P.S. If anyone could help me out by telling me the conversion rate of US Dollars to Japanese Yen, I'd appreciate that.**

**P.S.S. I do not own the **_**Persona**_** franchise, or any other represented franchises. All rights belong to their respective owners. I only own my OC characters and OC locations.**


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